Duke Blue Devils – Chatham Journal Newspaperhttp://chathamjournal.com
Experience the World of Chatham County, NCFri, 16 Feb 2018 05:03:10 +0000en-UShourly1https://i1.wp.com/chathamjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/10888465-four-newspaper-pile-isolated-on-white-background-Stock-Vector-newspaper-icon-headline-5580d7a0v1_site_icon.png?fit=32%2C32Duke Blue Devils – Chatham Journal Newspaperhttp://chathamjournal.com
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TV-G63016882ACC announces football game times & networks for September 23http://chathamjournal.com/2017/09/11/acc-announces-football-game-times-networks-september-23/
Mon, 11 Sep 2017 20:30:02 +0000http://chathamjournal.com/?p=7991Pittsboro, NC – The Atlantic Coast Conference announced the following game times and networks for the football games of September 23. Locally Duke will be playing North Carolina at Kenan stadium on Saturday at 3:30 pm. NC State and Wake…

]]>7991ACC announces Football Players of the Week – Week 2, 2017http://chathamjournal.com/2017/09/11/acc-announces-football-players-week-week-2-2017/
Mon, 11 Sep 2017 18:50:24 +0000http://chathamjournal.com/?p=7985Greensboro, NC – The Atlantic Coast Conference Football Players of the Week have been recognized following their performances in week two of the 2017 season. The selections are determined by a vote of a 15-member media panel. The following are…

]]>Greensboro, NC – The Atlantic Coast Conference Football Players of the Week have been recognized following their performances in week two of the 2017 season.

The selections are determined by a vote of a 15-member media panel. The following are this week’s honorees:

OFFENSIVE BACK – Lamar Jackson, Louisville, Jr., QB, 6-3, 211, Pompano Beach, Fla.
Jackson became the second player in FBS history to record at least 300 passing yards and 100 rushing yards in consecutive games during Saturday’s 47-35 win over North Carolina. Jackson’s 525 yards of total offense were the most ever allowed by the Tar Heels and is the eighth most in ACC history. He accounted for six touchdowns (three passing, three rushing). With 132 yards rushing, Jackson boasts 2,770 for his career and ranks fourth on Louisville’s all-time list. Following his 393-yard passing performance on Saturday, Jackson’s career total of 6,154 yards through the air ranks sixth all-time in school history.

OFFENSIVE LINE – Evan Lisle, Duke, Sr., OT, 6-7, 310, Centerville, Ohio
Lisle led the blocking for a Duke offense that amassed 538 yards and 34 first downs, converted 15-of-22 (.682) third-down snaps and held possession for 41:18 in Saturday’s 41-17 win over Northwestern. Lisle was part of an offensive line that protected quarterback Daniel Jones, who completed 29-of-45 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns. He opened holes for a Duke rushing attack that amassed 233 yards and three touchdowns, including a 108-yard, two-touchdown performance by Jones.

RECEIVER – Jaylen Smith, Louisville, Sr., WR, 6-4, 220, Pascagoula, Miss.
Smith recorded his third-career and second-straight 100-yard receiving game in the Cardinals’ win at North Carolina. He finished the contest with nine catches for 183 yards and one score. His 300 receiving yards are the most by a Louisville receiver in the first two games of a season, surpassing the 251 by Harry Douglas in 2007. Smith’s touchdown versus the Tar Heels came on a career-long 75-yard reception. His 183 receiving yards are the most by an ACC receiver in a game so far this season.

DEFENSIVE LINE – Austin Bryant, Clemson, Jr., DE, 6-4, 265, Pavo, Ga.
Bryant had four sacks to tie a Clemson record and had seven tackles overall in the Tigers’ 14-6 win over Auburn. He became just the third player in school history with four sacks in a game. Bryant led a defensive line that held Auburn to just 117 yards of total offense and just 38 yards rushing on 42 attempts. Bryant was named National Defensive Player of the Week by the Walter Camp Foundation on Sunday.

LINEBACKER – Dorian O’Daniel, Clemson, Gr., LB, 6-1, 215, Olney, Md.
O’Daniel had a career-high 14 tackles, including a career-high 10 primary hits in Clemson’s win over Auburn. Ten of his 14 tackles came in the first half. O’Daniel had two tackles for loss, including 1.5 sacks, and added a quarterback hurry as the Tigers held Auburn to 117 yards of total offense, just 38 of which came on the ground.

DEFENSIVE BACK – Essang Bassey, Wake Forest, So., CB, 5-10, 180, Columbus Ga.
Bassey had five tackles and an interception return for a touchdown in Wake Forest’s 34-10 win at Boston College on Saturday. Bassey’s pickoff and touchdown return came with 1:36 to play in the second quarter and Wake Forest holding onto a 14-7 lead. The interception led to Wake Forest’s 21-7 halftime lead.

SPECIALIST – Anthony Ratliff-Williams, North Carolina, So., KR, 6-1, 205, Matthews, N.C.
Ratliff-Williams returned five kickoffs for a school single-game record 199 yards – an average of 39.8 yards per return – in Saturday’s loss to No. 17 Louisville. Among the five returns was a 94-yard touchdown in the third quarter, Ratliff-Williams’ first career scoring play.

ROOKIE – Chazz Surratt, North Carolina, QB, R-Fr., 6-3, 215, Denver, N.C.
Making his first career start, Surratt completed 12-of-14 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns, all in the first half of Saturday’s loss to No. 17 Louisville. The redshirt freshman hit Brandon Fritts for a pair of scores – a 1-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and a 5-yarder in the second quarter.

]]>79852017 ACC football schedule for week 2 – UNC, Duke, NCSU playing at homehttp://chathamjournal.com/2017/09/08/2017-acc-football-schedule-week-2-unc-duke-ncsu-playing-home/
Fri, 08 Sep 2017 20:48:28 +0000http://chathamjournal.com/?p=7968Pittsboro, NC – Here is this week’s schedule for ACC football games. Locally, on Saturday, North Carolina will host Louisville at Kenan Stadium for a noon game, Northwestern will kick off at Duke at 12. Marshall will be at NC…

]]>Pittsboro, NC – Here is this week’s schedule for ACC football games. Locally, on Saturday, North Carolina will host Louisville at Kenan Stadium for a noon game, Northwestern will kick off at Duke at 12. Marshall will be at NC State for an evening 6 pm start. All three games will be on TV.

Meanwhile, Wake Forest is traveling north to face Boston College at 1 pm. This game will be available on the Internet on ACC Network Extra.

Saturday, September 9

No. 17/16 Louisville at North Carolina, Noon, ESPN

Northwestern at Duke, Noon, ESPNU

Jacksonville State at Georgia Tech, 12:30 p.m., RSN

Wake Forest at Boston College, 1 p.m., ACC Network Extra

Pitt at No. 4/4 Penn State, 3:30 p.m., ABC

No. 16/17 Miami at Arkansas State, 3:30 p.m., ESPNU

Middle Tennessee at Syracuse, 3:30 p.m., ACC Network Extra

Indiana at Virginia, 3:30 p.m., ACC Network Extra

Delaware at No. 18/18 Virginia Tech, 3:30 p.m., ACC Network Extra

Marshall at NC State, 6 p.m., ACC Network Extra

No. 13/13 Auburn at No. 3/3 Clemson, 7 p.m., ESPN

ULM at No. 10/9 Florida State, 7 p.m., ACC Network

ACC Football Notes

The second week of the ACC schedule features two conference matchups – Louisville at North Carolina and Wake Forest at Boston College. Seven of the remaining 10 teams play at home against non-conference opponents.

The ACC and Big Ten square off in three games this weekend when Pitt plays at Penn State, Indiana visits Virginia and Duke hosts Northwestern.

In a battle of top 15 teams, No. 3/3 Clemson plays host to No. 12/13 Auburn Saturday evening on ESPN at 7 p.m. Clemson has won three straight in the series, including last year’s 19-13 victory in Auburn en route to the national championship.

Pitt and Penn State renew their rivalry for the 98th time. Last season, Pitt’s James Connor rushed for 117 yards in a 42-39 win over the eventual Big Ten champs.

No. 16/17 Miami travels to Arkansas State, which narrowly lost last week at Nebraska.

Led by QB Daniel Jones, who has attempted 198 consecutive passes without an interception, Duke will look to go 2-0 for the fourth time in the last five years.

Seeking a 2-0 start for the second time under head coach Steve Addazio, Boston College kicks off its conference slate with a home game vs. Wake Forest. The Deacons opened the year with a home win last Thursday over Presbyterian.

Florida State looks to rebound from a 24-7 loss to Alabama, playing host to ULM. The Seminoles lost quarterback Deondre Francois to a season-ending injury against the Tide and will start true freshman James Blackman against the Warhawks.

Syracuse plays the second of three-straight games at home as the Orange welcome Middle Tennessee to town.

Virginia Tech earned the ACC’s first win over a ranked team this season with a thrilling 31-24 victory over No. 20/22 West Virginia. QB Josh Jackson threw for 200 yards and rushed for 100 in his debut.

Five Atlantic Coast Conference football teams are ranked in both the Associated Press and Amway Coaches Top 25 polls. Clemson is third in both polls. Also included in the rankings are No. 10 (AP)/9 (Amway) Florida State No. 16/17 Miami, No. 17/16 Louisville and No. 18/18 Virginia Tech.

Four ACC quarterbacks made their first career starts this past weekend, including Boston College’s Anthony Brown, Clemson’s Kelly Bryant, Virginia Tech’s Josh Jackson and Georgia Tech’s TaQuon Marshall. Florida State, due to the season-ending injury to QB Deondre Francois, will be fielding a first-time starter at quarterback in week two.

The ACC tied its all-time high for most non-conference wins on an opening week with a 10-4 mark over the five-day Labor Day weekend.

ABC’s Saturday Night Football telecast of the historic matchup between Florida State and Alabama (Sept. 2 at 8 p.m.) delivered a total live audience of 12,560,000 viewers to become the most-watched kickoff weekend game in college history.

]]>7968ACC kicks off the 2017 football season on Thursday, August 31 with WFU home gamehttp://chathamjournal.com/2017/08/30/acc-kicks-off-2017-football-season-thursday-august-31-wfu-home-game/
Thu, 31 Aug 2017 01:52:08 +0000http://chathamjournal.com/?p=7940Winston-Salem, NC – The Atlantic Coast Conference kicks off it’s 2017 football season on the evening of Thursday, August 31. The first game is Presbyterian at Wake Forest. Other area ACC football games on Saturday include California at UNC at…

ACC Football Notes
Led by Florida State and Clemson, five Atlantic Coast Conference football teams are ranked in both the preseason Associated Press and Amway Coaches Top 25 polls. The Seminoles are third in both polls, and Clemson is fifth in both. Also included in the rankings are No. 16 (AP)/17 (Amway) Louisville, No. 18/18 Miami and No. 21/22 Virginia Tech.

The ACC is the only conference with two top-five selections in the AP poll and is tied for second with five teams in the poll. This marks the second consecutive season (and second time overall) two ACC teams have been included in the AP preseason top five. Last year, Clemson and Florida State also were ranked in the top five.

No. 3 Florida State will face No. 1 Alabama on Saturday, Sept. 2, in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta. Those are the highest-ranked teams in a season opener since the AP started a preseason poll in 1950. Dubbed the “Greatest Opener of All-Time (GOAT),” the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game is the fourth season-opening matchup between two top five opponents.

ACC teams will play more games (22) against Power 5 non-conference teams in 2017 than any of its peer conferences. The ACC will also have a higher percentage (.393) of its non-conference games against Power 5 opponents than any other league.

ACC teams will play more games against non-conference teams (9) that were ranked in this year’s AP Top 25 than any other peer conference.

Including the 11 ACC teams that went to bowl games, no ACC team will face fewer than seven opponents that went to bowls last season. ACC teams will play 26 games against non-conference opponents that went to bowl games in 2016, the second-highest total among peer conferences.

ACC teams’ FBS non-conference opponents had the second-highest winning percentage (.526) in 2016 of any of the Power 5 conferences.

The ACC will begin the 2017 season tying its record (14) for most games on a single weekend, which was set in 2015 when all 14 schools played non-conference opponents.

Last year, the ACC tied its record for most non-conference victories on an opening weekend by posting a 10-2 record. That is also the best winning percentage on an opening weekend with eight or more non-conference games. The ACC had 10 non-conference wins in 2010 and 2015.

The ACC set a league record in 2014 for most non-conference wins on any weekend, posting a perfect 11-0 mark in week two. That was also the most wins in an undefeated weekend in league history.

]]>794015th annual Triangle Pigskin Preview set for July 20http://chathamjournal.com/2017/07/19/triangle-pigskin-preview-set-july-20/
Wed, 19 Jul 2017 19:55:10 +0000http://chathamjournal.com/?p=7852Cary, NC – On August 23, 1995, Coach Bill Dooley, one of the most successful coaches in Atlantic Coast Conference history, invited Athletic Directors, Coaches and Representatives from the University of North Carolina, Duke, North Carolina Central and North Carolina…

]]>Cary, NC – On August 23, 1995, Coach Bill Dooley, one of the most successful coaches in Atlantic Coast Conference history, invited Athletic Directors, Coaches and Representatives from the University of North Carolina, Duke, North Carolina Central and North Carolina State University to join him and NC Governor, Jim Hunt, at the State Capitol Old Senate Chambers.

It was at that meeting that the universities pledged their support to the newly formed NFFCHOF (National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame) Chapter and its mission. Since its inception, Executive Director Bill Dooley worked to promote chapter growth. In 2012, East Carolina University joined the Chapter. In 2014, its board of directors unanimously voted to name the chapter after its founder. Today the NFF Bill Dooley Chapter ranks as the largest in the country.

Each year the Chapter awards up to 38 scholarships to high school football athletes in Wake, Orange, Durham and Pitt counties. In total, the NFF Bill Dooley Chapter has awarded over $400,000 in scholarship money to deserving football student-athletes in our communities.

On July 20, 2017, The 15th Annual Bill Dooley Pigskin Preview, sponsored by Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated, will be held at the Embassy Suites, Cary, NC. Registration starts at 11 am. The program begins at 11:30 am. The luncheon benefit features Head Football Coaches Duke University David Cutcliffe, ECU Scottie Montgomery, NCCU Jerry Mack, NCSU Dave Doeren, UNC Larry Fedora. WRAL Jeff Gravely, emcee, will lead a panel discussion featuring the upcoming season and more!

]]>7852Video & transcript: David Cutcliffe talks about team meetings, tardiness, recruiting, social media & annual NCCU gamehttp://chathamjournal.com/2017/07/17/video-transcript-duke-football-coach-david-cutcliffe-talks/
Mon, 17 Jul 2017 21:04:15 +0000http://chathamjournal.com/?p=7836Charlotte, NC – Duke football coach David Cutcliffe sat down for media interviews during the 2017 ACC Kickoff. Here’s a bit where he discusses team meetings, tardiness, recruiting, social media and the annual football game against North Carolina Central. David…

]]>Charlotte, NC – Duke football coach David Cutcliffe sat down for media interviews during the 2017 ACC Kickoff. Here’s a bit where he discusses team meetings, tardiness, recruiting, social media and the annual football game against North Carolina Central.

David Cutcliffe: Like we got a problem, team meeting?

Reporter: Yeah, like we show everyone here tomorrow at…

David Cutcliffe: I’m trying to remember because I really haven’t had many of those instances. I’ve done it generally not anything to do related to football. It would have in that case been related to some form of behavior. Because that’s just me. I’m not going to push panic buttons on the football end of it and I’m not really going to push panic buttons, but there’s a time that you bring everybody in and say … The first one I did at Duke was pretty funny. They didn’t know I had some tech ability. So I was able to get into all of their Facebooks and their posts. I’m just taking over and so I set up a nice little slideshow and called a team meeting and I popped slide after slide, eyes got bigger. And I said “get your asses out of this team room. You’ve got 30 minutes to clean all of this off or you may not be a part of this program moving forward.” You’ve never seen people move faster. That’s a pretty good team meeting.

Reporter: I was trying to trick you. Brian said his very first meeting of his very first fall camp a veteran player showed up late.

David Cutcliffe: Oh, I did that. That’s a behavior thing.

Reporter: And you waited for him to come in and everyone sat there and then you told him to come back at 4 am the next day.

David Cutcliffe: I can go volatile on behavior. People ask all the time, because we’re a morning practice team, what do I do if they’re late? And I said, rarely are they dumb enough to be late.

We’ve had a great summer of everybody on time. That’s one of the things I ask our strength staff. We did some work with them as coaches in June, which you can do agility. They averaged eight minutes early. I measure teams that way too. That may be so stupid and so old fashioned but that’s me. You know what I’m saying?

I think it tells you something about your squad. But if that were to happen again, the same result would happen. It was ridiculous. Come on, they’re smart guys. They wouldn’t be at Duke, right? Don’t tell me you didn’t know. Don’t even go there. I don’t ever want to hear that. You didn’t know? Really? We got a Duke, former Duke player Zach….

Reporter: I was about to say that’s impossible now.

David Cutcliffe: It’s impossible. This is Duke for Duke, man. You can’t do it.

My phone. I gave my phone away today because I didn’t want to be distracted. That’s fun by the way.

Do you ever just set your phone aside all day long? That is so much fun. I thought I felt it buzz in my pocket a minute ago and then I realized it’s not there. My body just has nerves buzzing now.

Reporter 2: Do you prevent your players from any type of social media or are you just careful about…

David Cutcliffe: Inappropriate social media.

Reporter 2: So basically nothing that your mom should be embarrassed about reading.

David Cutcliffe: That’s exactly right. I’m not ever going to prevent them from using social media. The day I have to do that then I realize that I don’t have the relationship with our players that I should have. That’s not the way it has to work.

Reporter 1: You had a player that you’d been recruiting really really hard and he comes to your camp and you see stuff that you didn’t know and you’d stop recruiting?

David Cutcliffe: It happens. Those are difficult times because they’re young people. Recruiting happens too fast. Not to get back on that bandwagon, but we’ve got dangerous legislation. You can hurt young people. You can hurt their families. They can hurt you, they can hurt … with no intention.

But how do you know enough about a kid that has actually maybe five semesters in high school. Whether you’re offering or not offering or accepting a commitment or not, you understand what I’m saying. So we have gotten the cart in front of the horse. And when other sports have done that you’ll listen to some of the Olympic sports that kept moving that model up.

Talk to our women’s lacrosse coach, they’re moving it back the other way. There’s a lack of maturity involved in that. I don’t want to have to offer Steve Weisman fall of his sophomore year and then have him in camp two years later and realize he’s not what we thought he was as a person or a player and now we’ve got to retract. But what’s better, retracting or taking someone you don’t want? You understand what I’m saying? That’s complex.

Reporter 1: If you were the NCAA czar and you could-

David Cutcliffe: I wish I was.

Reporter: And you could say this is the way it is without going through committees and all that stuff, how would you structure the [inaudible 00:05:48]?

David Cutcliffe: I don’t have time to answer that because that is complex. But we would not be moving the calendar up. We would be restricting more of the early approach. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with unofficial visits where people come visit and one of the things they talk about, people can’t afford to do it.

Well if you can’t, you don’t need to be traveling all over the country looking at schools. That’s not restrictive, it’s really not. That’s been going on forever. What was wrong with that? If you looked at Ohio State’s roster under Woody Hayes where do you think most of the players would have come from?

Reporter: Ohio..

David Cutcliffe: Is there anything wrong with that? No.

Reporter: He did quite well.

David Cutcliffe: So we’ve got to come to grips.

The other thing, we want to protect players emotionally and physically. We’ve got to be able to have people making decisions that understand the emotional parts. Goes back to whoever asked me about transfer. That’s dangerous to a kid. They’re still kids in graduate transfers. You understand what I’m saying. So it’s pretty complex. I am a trustee on the AFCA board. I was a member of the Football Issues Committee before it was … there’s only one coach on the Football Oversight Committee. If you look at those things as a football coach, we should have the interest of the student athlete more dearly at heart than any other [inaudible 00:07:38].

Reporter: So that’s something you have in common with your basketball coach, you’d both like to be commissioners of your respective sports if there was such a position nationally?

Reporter 3: I bet every coach wants to be.

David Cutcliffe: Well and when we have a head coaches meeting at the convention and I try to listen as a board member what the majority wants and we vote, the majority in a big way did not want these early visits. We keep hearing that it’s a compromise. What are we compromising with? We’re compromising health and welfare of the game if we’re not careful.

Reporter 2: What’s your assessment of the football game between Duke and NC Central?

David Cutcliffe: Well, Mose Rison was the coach and I approached him, just thought it would be a healthy thing for Durham, a healthy thing for both institutions. I certainly hope it has been. I wanted to build some community in that regard. That was really important to me. I felt like I’d come in, right when I came in there was some strain between the Durham community and Duke. Maybe even Duke athletics. And I think it’s worked to a large degree in that model and something that I would continue.

I love the fact that it’s called the Bull City Classic. I’m very proud to be a part of the Bull City, I think we have a great community. I drive by Central a lot, see the improvements of the institution. It’s not a mistake maybe that they’re winning championships in their league and it’s probably been beneficial being a part of the Bull City Classic. I feel good about it.

]]>7836Seminoles lead 2017 ACC football preseason pollhttp://chathamjournal.com/2017/07/17/seminoles-lead-acc-football-preseason-poll/
Mon, 17 Jul 2017 19:49:50 +0000http://chathamjournal.com/?p=7829Greensboro, NC – Florida State is the preseason favorite to claim the Atlantic Coast Conference football championship, according to a poll of 167 media members held in conjunction with last week’s 2017 ACC Football Kickoff. The Seminoles, who posted a…

]]>Greensboro, NC – Florida State is the preseason favorite to claim the Atlantic Coast Conference football championship, according to a poll of 167 media members held in conjunction with last week’s 2017 ACC Football Kickoff.

The Seminoles, who posted a 10-3 overall record last season and defeated Michigan in the Capital One Orange Bowl, are also picked to capture the Atlantic Division, while Miami received the nod as the likely Coastal Division winner.

Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson of Louisville was chosen to repeat as ACC Player of the Year after a record-setting 2016 campaign in which he averaged 393.4 yards per game of total offense and accounted for 51 touchdowns, both ACC single-season records. His 1,571 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns were also ACC records for a quarterback.

Jackson, a rising junior from Pompano Beach, Florida, who is the youngest player to win the Heisman Trophy, also was named the 2016 National College Football Player of the Year by the Maxwell Award, Walter Camp, the Sporting News and CBS Sports.

Florida State was named the likely 2017 ACC champions on 118 ballots, followed by defending national champion and two-time defending ACC champion Clemson with 35 votes. Louisville received seven votes, followed by Virginia Tech and Miami with three each and Duke with one.

In the Atlantic Division preseason voting, Florida State led the way with 121 first-place votes and 1,108 total points. Clemson followed with 37 first-place votes and 1,007 points, while Louisville received nine first-place votes and checked in with 843 total points.

NC State (658 total points) was tabbed for a fourth-place Atlantic Division finish, followed by Wake Forest (415), Syracuse (362) and Boston College (283).

Miami, beginning its second season under head coach Mark Richt, was selected the likely Coastal Division winner by 103 voters and amassed 1,065 total points. Defending division champion Virginia Tech followed with 40 first-place votes and 932 points. Georgia Tech placed third with nine first-place votes and 708 points.

The Atlantic and Coastal Division winners will meet in the 2017 Dr Pepper ACC Football Championship Game on Saturday, December 2, at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium. If this year’s media predictions prove correct, it will be a first-ever title game matchup of teams from the Sunshine State and a rematch of an early regular-season showdown. The Seminoles and Hurricanes meet in Tallahassee on September 16.

Florida State owns 15 ACC championships since joining the league in 1992, just behind leader Clemson’s 16 conference crowns. Head coach Jimbo Fisher will welcome back 20 starters this season, including talented sophomore quarterback Deondre Francois and a deep defensive secondary led by Tavarus McFadden, Nate Andrews and Derwin James, a redshirt sophomore who returns after being sidelined by a knee injury in the second game of last season.

Louisville’s Jackson led the preseason ACC Player of the Year balloting with 113 votes, while Florida State’s Francois was listed on 23 ballots and Clemson defensive tackle Christian Wilkins on 11.

Boston College defensive end Harold Landry received eight ACC Preseason Player of the Year votes, followed by NC State all-purpose standout Jaylen Samuels with seven and Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey with two. Miami linebacker Shaquille Quarterman, Miami wide receiver Ahmmon Richards and Duke quarterback Daniel Jones each received one vote.

]]>Greensboro, NC – The Atlantic Coast Conference led all conferences with nine players selected to the 2017 Preseason John Mackey Award Watch List, which was announced Tuesday by the Friends of John Mackey.

Wake Forest senior Cam Serigne (Ashburn, Virginia) is making his third appearance on the preseason watch list, having been so honored before the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Florida State junior Ryan Izzo (Highland Lakes, New Jersey) is being honored for the second time, having been named before the 2016 season.

Louisville was one of three schools nationally to have two players chosen to the list in juniors Micky Crum and Jordan Davis.

Given annually to the most outstanding collegiate tight end, the award recipient is selected by vote of the John Mackey Award Selection Committee and the 2017 Mackey Award recipient will be announced on December 6, 2017. He will then be presented live on December 7, 2017, at The Home Depot College Football Awards Red Carpet Show on ESPNU. All future announcements can be found at www.johnmackeyaward.com.

NFL Hall of Fame member John Mackey, who played collegiately at current ACC member Syracuse from 1960-62, is considered to be the best to have played the tight end position. A tight end by whom all others are measured, Mackey was a role model on and off the field as demonstrated by his Super Bowl Championship, his commitment to community and his place in history as the first President of the NFLPA.

Since the Award’s inception for the 2000 season, four players from current ACC schools have won the Mackey Award, most recently Florida State’s Nick O’Leary in 2014. Clemson’s Dwayne Allen (2011), Virginia’s Heath Miller (2004) and Miami’s Kellen Winslow II (2003) also captured the honor.

]]>7810Here are the 28 student-athletes attending the 2017 ACC Football Kickoffhttp://chathamjournal.com/2017/07/07/28-student-athletes-attending-2017-acc-football-kickoff/
Fri, 07 Jul 2017 21:15:52 +0000http://chathamjournal.com/?p=7776Greensboro, NC – Here are the 28 football student-athletes who have been chosen by the Atlantic Coast Conference’s 14 league schools to attend the 2017 ACC Football Kickoff, July 13-14 at the Westin Charlotte located in Charlotte, N.C. The football…

]]>Greensboro, NC – Here are the 28 football student-athletes who have been chosen by the Atlantic Coast Conference’s 14 league schools to attend the 2017 ACC Football Kickoff, July 13-14 at the Westin Charlotte located in Charlotte, N.C.

The football student-athletes who will be attending the 2017 ACC Football Kickoff are:

For the second time in its history, the ACC will have the reigning Heisman Trophy winner at its preseason media event, as Louisville’s Lamar Jackson makes his second appearance at the Kickoff. Florida State’s Jameis Winston, the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner, attended the 2014 ACC Kickoff.

Jackson, the youngest player to win the Heisman Trophy, is one of two ACC players making a repeat appearance from the 2016 Kickoff. Syracuse linebacker Zaire Franklin will be making his third appearance for the Orange at the ACC Kickoff, having previously made appearances in 2015 and 2016. He will be the first ACC football student-athlete to attend the Kickoff three times.

In all, the ACC Kickoff student-athletes hail from 11 states with seven each from Florida and North Carolina, four from Virginia, two each from Massachusetts and Georgia and one apiece from Delaware, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Oregon and Pennsylvania.

Five of the student-athletes are returning to their hometown of Charlotte for the Kickoff, including quarterback Daniel Jones (Latin) and cornerback Bryon Fields, Jr. (Providence Day) of Duke, cornerback Jaire Alexander (Rocky River) of Louisville, offensive Tackle Bentley Spain (Providence) of North Carolina and all-purpose back Jaylen Samuels (Mallard Creek) of NC State.

Five of the student-athletes earned All-America honors in 2016, including Jackson, who was a unanimous first-team All-America selection, and Clemson defensive tackle Christian Wilkins who was a consensus All-America honoree. Additionally, Alexander, Virginia safety Quin Blanding and Boston College defensive end Harold Landry were second-team All-America picks.

Nine of the 28 student-athletes were named to the recently released Athlon Sports 2017 preseason All-America football team, including Alexander, Blanding, Jackson, Landry, Samuels, Wilkins, Florida State defensive back Derwin James, NC State defensive end Bradley Chubb and Pitt offensive tackle Brian O’Neill.

A total of 13 of the 28 student-athletes were chosen first, second or third team All-ACC in 2016.

Among the offensive players in attendance will be five quarterbacks, four offensive linemen, and five running backs or receivers. Defensively, five defensive linemen, three linebackers and six defensive backs will be on hand.

]]>7776Atlantic Coast Conference releases 2017 ACC football schedulehttp://chathamjournal.com/2017/01/24/atlantic-coast-conference-releases-2017-acc-football-schedule/
Tue, 24 Jan 2017 19:54:10 +0000http://chathamjournal.com/?p=7217Greensboro, NC – The 2017 Atlantic Coast Conference football schedule released Tuesday again includes one of the most difficult nonconference slates among the Power Five conferences. With Clemson and Florida State winning two of the last four national championships, ACC…

]]>Greensboro, NC – The 2017 Atlantic Coast Conference football schedule released Tuesday again includes one of the most difficult nonconference slates among the Power Five conferences.

With Clemson and Florida State winning two of the last four national championships, ACC programs will face teams in 2017 that have won 10 of the last 11 national titles.

ACC teams will play more games (22) against Power Five nonconference teams than any of its peer conferences. The ACC will also have a higher percentage (.393) of its nonconference games against Power Five opponents than any other league.

ACC teams will play more games against nonconference teams (7) that were ranked in last year’s final Associated Press Top 25 than any other Power Five conference. The ACC also has the second-highest percentage of games against teams ranked in the final AP poll of any of its peers.

Including the 11 ACC teams that went to bowl games, no ACC team will face fewer than seven opponents that went to bowls in 2016, while eight teams will face eight or more opponents that played in the postseason with Syracuse (11), Duke (10), Clemson (9), Georgia Tech (9), NC State (9) and Virginia (9) leading the way. ACC teams will play 26 games against nonconference opponents that went to bowl games in 2016, the second-highest total among Power Five conferences.

ACC teams will play seven nonconference games against teams in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25 for 2017, which ties for the most among Power Five conferences.

ACC teams’ FBS nonconference opponents had the second-highest winning percentage (.526) in 2016 of any of the Power Five conferences.

“Our ACC football programs are coming off a record-setting season that was capped off with nine postseason wins, including Clemson’s National Championship and Florida State’s Orange Bowl Title,” said ACC Commissioner John Swofford. “Our football success over the last few years has helped put the ACC in one of the strongest positions we have ever enjoyed as a league. As we look ahead to 2017, conference games will continue to be extremely competitive and our schools are once again playing what is arguably the top nonconference schedule in the country. This is a great tribute to our schools and programs, and it will be exciting on a weekly basis for our fans.”

No. 1 Clemson led five ACC teams which finished in the Top 25 of the final 2016 AP poll, tying the league’s all-time high. The Tigers, who claimed their second national championship and the 14th by current ACC schools with a 35-31 win over Alabama in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, were followed by Florida State (No. 8), Virginia Tech (No. 16), Miami (No. 20) and Louisville (No. 21).

Florida State will face five teams that finished 2016 ranked in the AP Top 25, including Alabama (No. 2), Miami, Louisville, Clemson and Florida (No. 14). Syracuse will also face five teams from the final AP poll in LSU (No. 13), Clemson, Florida State, Miami and Louisville.

Boston College, Clemson, Georgia Tech and Pitt will each face four opponents that were in the final Top 25. The Tigers face a rematch of the 2016 Dr Pepper ACC Championship Game when the Tigers face Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on Sept. 30, as well as Auburn (No. 24), Florida State and Louisville. Boston College will have games against Clemson, Florida State, Louisville and Virginia Tech. Georgia Tech faces Clemson, Virginia Tech, Miami and Tennessee (No. 22). Pitt will have games against Virginia Tech, Miami, Penn State (No. 7) and Oklahoma State (No. 11).

The ACC will have three games nationally-televised by ESPN or ESPN2 on Thursday nights, including Louisville at NC State (Oct. 5), Georgia Tech at Miami (Oct. 12) and North Carolina at Pitt (Nov. 9).

The schedule incorporates five games against Notre Dame. Boston College hosts the Irish on Sept. 16, while North Carolina (Oct. 7) and Miami (Nov. 11) also will have home games with Notre Dame. NC State (Oct. 28) and Wake Forest (Nov. 4) will each travel to South Bend.

ACC teams will play five neutral site games on the opening weekend of the season, including two Chick-fil-A Kickoff Games scheduled for Atlanta’s new Mercedes-Benz Stadium. On Saturday, Sept. 2, Florida State will face Alabama, and on Labor Day Monday night Georgia Tech will host Tennessee.

The other opening weekend neutral site games include Virginia Tech facing West Virginia at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland; Louisville facing Purdue at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis; and NC State facing South Carolina at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte in the Belk College Kickoff Game.

One other neutral site game scheduled for later in the year has Boston College facing UConn at Fenway Park in Boston on Nov. 18.

In all, the schedule includes 56 regular-season conference match-ups over a span of 13 weeks and is capped off with the 13th annual Dr Pepper Atlantic Coast Conference Football Championship Game, which will be played on Saturday, Dec. 2.

The ACC Digital Network, the home of ACC Postgame Highlights and Must See Moments, will give fans a glimpse into the key matchups of the 2017 ACC Football Schedule with a Live Release Special at 3 p.m. EST on Facebook.com/theACC as well as a close look into the Clemson’s road to repeat as National Champions. The 2017 Football Schedule Release videos as well as all ACCDN video content is available on theACC.com, the ACC Sports mobile app, and through the ACCDN channel on various streaming media such as Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, go90, Roku, and Xbox.

The Atlantic Coast Conference, now in its 64th year of competition and 15 members strong, has long enjoyed the reputation as one of the strongest and most competitive intercollegiate conferences in the nation. ACC members Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest continue to build upon the cornerstones on which the league was founded in 1953 with a consistent balance of academics, athletics and integrity. The ACC currently sponsors 27 NCAA sports – 14 for women and 13 for men – with member institutions located in 10 states. For more information, visit theACC.com and follow @theACC on Twitter and on Facebook (facebook.com/theACC).